It is often desirable to keep substrate surfaces clear of dust, dirt, and other debris. The dust, dirt, and other debris may reduce transparency of the substrate, which may negatively impact performance. For example, it is undesirable to have dust and debris settle on a glass substrate used as a window or as part of an electronic display device, as the dust may hamper a person's view through the glass substrate. As an additional example, dust settling on the surface of a solar panel may block solar rays, and thus reduce the energy generating efficiency of the solar panel.
Cleaning substrate surfaces can also be a time consuming and expensive task. Cleaning large surfaces, such as the windows of a tall sky scraper, not only requires special chemicals and expensive equipment, but requires many hours of manual labor. The expense of cleaning substrate surfaces is further increased if the surface is prone to exposure to dust and debris because of cleanings.